Wireless Sensor Network Applications in Agriculture Is the Wireless Revolution Coming to Agriculture? George Vellidis University of Georgia
TAPAC the TransAtlantic Precision Agriculture Consortium A Student Exchange and Research Partnership United States University of Georgia Auburn University Mississippi State University European Union Panepistimio Thessalias Università degli Studi di Padova Technische Universität München www.nespal.org/tapac
Wi-Fi ZigBee RFID WLAN Bluetooth 802.11x MIMO WiMAX Mesh Networks WPAN 2.4 GHz
wireless \wi(ә)r-lәs\ adj : having no wire or wires Webster s New Collegiate Dictionary
wireless - a term used to describe telecommunications in which electromagnetic waves (rather than some form of wire) carry the signal over part or all of the communication path www.wikipedia.com
The Wireless (Radio) is 114 years old this year
Nikki with remote
2.8 billion mobile phones in use in 2007 4.6 billion today 1.6 million added each day 600 million with broadband in 2009 1 billion in 2010 Laura with phone
Projection of Wireless Market
Why the Revolution? Dramatically improving efficiency cost power requirements size
Why the Revolution? Example: GPS chips
Why the Revolution? Example: GPS chips Wireless example: Passive RFID chips no power source 2 billion sold in 2009 smaller than a match head $0.03 each
The Economist, April 28, 2007
Changes Favoring Paradigm Shift Farms are becoming larger Farms are becoming less contiguous More land is being farmed by fewer people Distances / travel time between fields increasing
30 km
Remote Monitoring Needs Data from gauges and sensors (soil moisture, pressure, environmental, disease, insect pressure, etc.) Status of farm gates and building doors (open/close) Status of irrigation valves Status of pumping equipment Live video of operations Monitoring of greenhouses, livestock enclosures, and storage facilities Audible or other alarms
Wasp Hound Uses parasitic wasps to detect VOC released by plant in response to disease or insect pressure Stationary or mobile
Remote Control Needs Opening and closing valves & gates Turning on and off lights, pumps, heaters, etc, Guiding robotic vehicles
Information Transfer Needs Automatic incorporation of environmental data into decision support systems and crop models Uploading data/maps to variable rate application equipment (example later) Weather, market, & operational information to remote locations & vehicles Real-time information such as DGPS correction signals
Communication Needs Communications between farm workers Voice and text graphical representations video
Asset Tracking Needs Relative position of center pivot irrigation systems (example later) Location of farm vehicles Location of livestock Location of workers safety performance
Distance Diagnosis Remotely located technicians and specialists can access, monitor and control on-farm assets with the permission of the local manager
Why Not?
Wi-Fi ZigBee RFID WLAN Bluetooth 802.11x MIMO WiMAX Mesh Networks WPAN 2.4 GHz
The Economist, April 28, 2007
What Is the Solution?
One Possible Solution? Wireless Broadband Delivery of the Internet
Wireless Delivery of the Internet Diverse communications medium Supports voice video machine-to-machine monitoring and control
C A Β Relay node Soil moisture sensor array node
The Technology Wireless Broadband a communications network in which the bandwidth can be divided and shared by multiple simultaneous signals such as data, voice, and video. IP based Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
Benefits of WLANs Inexpensive Ubiquitous and standardized IEEE 802.xx High bandwidth (up to 100mbps currently) Highly versatile voice, video, data, control commands, files, internet info Accessible globally
IEEE 802.16 WiMAX Newest generation of WiFi which promises... Up to 15 km range without wires Broadband speeds without cable or T1 Expected to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds Last mile" access in remote areas
The Mitchell Farm
Tifton Campus Wireless Broadband Coverage
Wireless Network at Moore Farm Main Proxim AP600 providing link to the other Access points (30 m on a tower). 4 Proxim AP600 at pivot locations linked to main AP using WDS 1 Dlink DCS-1000W Camera Reliawave 2.4GHz link to NESPAL (15 km) Trango M900S 900 MHz link to the South Farm
DCS-1000W camera 25 m on tower
www.nespal.org/precisionag/
C A Β Relay node Soil moisture sensor array node
IEEE 802.11s Mesh Networking Standard utilizes a mesh topology Allows for fully selfconfiguring networks where each node can relay messages on behalf of others Increases the range and available bandwidth with the number of nodes active within the system.
3 2 3 2 GW 1 4 GW 1 4 Initial routing of signals between motes Routing of signals after turning off mote number 1 Hypothetical Mesh network.
The Smart Sensor Array Low-cost wireless sensor node Central receiver very sandy receiver wet Large population of soil moisture sensor nodes most productive Smart system Ideally suited to irrigation management zones
Schematic of Smart Sensor Array To web server Watermark soil moisture sensor microcontroller board & wireless transmitter in watertight enclosure thermocouple temperature sensor Gateway
Sensor Node RF engine Excitation Sensor input Up to 3 Watermarks Up to 2 thermocouples Analog to digital conversion Smart power management
Sensor Integration
RF Transmitters First generation: Crossbow Mica2 Motes Acceptable range (100 200 m) $120 each (retail) Very robust software successfully transmit data Always able to reestablish network 30% failure rate in the field Second generation: Synapse RF100 RF Engines Excellent range (500+ m) $39 each (retail) Software not so robust rogue networks No failures
180 ac (73 ha)
26 52 Field J 42 ac rainfed
Under pivot in wet area near pond dry corner 46 49 under pivot 45 Field C 63 ac pivot irrigated
Application to PA Linking to Variable Rate Irrigation Developed by UGA and under patent by FarmScan (Perth, Australia) Distributed by Valley Irrigation Advanced Ag Systems provides sales and support Rick Heard, Dothan, AL http://www.advancedagsystems.com
Scheme with Variable Rate Irrigation Each grid cell can be individually controlled by a VRI pivot In theory, a sensor node could be installed in every cell In practice, we anticipate 2 to 6 sensors within each management zone Gateway Sensor node
Scheme with Variable Rate Irrigation Data collected by Gateway is passed on to VRI controller VRI controller assesses soil moisture and / or temperature data determines need for irrigation in each management zone controls pivot to apply irrigation Gateway Sensor node
Gateway Irrigation sensor location 0 25 50 meters 10 E 9 11 8 31 Zone E irrigation scheduled visually 12 32 6 7 Zone A Zone B Zone C 13 5 30 Zone D
Soil Water Tension (kpa) Soil Water Tension (kpa) Cumulative Rainfall per Event and Irrigation per Day (mm) 2-Jun 12-Jun 22-Jun 2-Jul 12-Jul 22-Jul 1-Aug 11-Aug 21-Aug 31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 110 0 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Cumulative Rain Irrigation Watermarks at 0.2 m Watermarks at 0.4 m Watermarks at 0.6 m 50 100 150 30 20 200 10 0 250 2-Jun 12-Jun 22-Jun 2-Jul 12-Jul 22-Jul 1-Aug 11-Aug 21-Aug 31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 2004 Growing Season (Date) E D A Zone E C B
Soil Water Tension (kpa) Soil Water Tension (kpa) Cumulative Rainfall per Event and Irrigation per Day (mm) 2-Jun 12-Jun 22-Jun 2-Jul 12-Jul 22-Jul 1-Aug 11-Aug 21-Aug 31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 110 0 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Cumulative Rain Irrigation Watermarks at 0.2 m Watermarks at 0.4 m Watermarks at 0.6 m 50 100 150 30 20 200 10 0 250 2-Jun 12-Jun 22-Jun 2-Jul 12-Jul 22-Jul 1-Aug 11-Aug 21-Aug 31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 2004 Growing Season (Date) E D A Zone E C B
Soil Water Tension (kpa) Soil Water Tension (kpa) Cumulative Rainfall per Event and Irrigation per Day (mm) 2-Jun 12-Jun 22-Jun 2-Jul 12-Jul 22-Jul 1-Aug 11-Aug 21-Aug 31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 110 0 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Cumulative Rain Irrigation Watermarks at 0.2 m Watermarks at 0.4 m Watermarks at 0.6 m 50 100 150 30 20 10 0 200 250 2-Jun 12-Jun 22-Jun 2-Jul 12-Jul 22-Jul 1-Aug 11-Aug 21-Aug 31-Aug 10-Sep 20-Sep 30-Sep 2004 Growing Season (Date) E D A Zone C C B
Mesh Network System Costs Sensor nodes with 2 Watermarks and Synapse RF $100 each $2000 for 20 sensor nodes Gateway $1500 Synapse RF Engine, PDA or netbook, and associated software Cell phone modem for data transmission to web server Complete system with 20 nodes $3500
Next for the Smart Sensor Array Create web-based irrigation scheduling dashboard Install 10 demonstration sites with control of VRI pivots Commercialization Modify sensor node electronics to include other sensors
Lessons Learned The challenge with wireless is that you can not see the problem when it occurs. Diagnostic tools and information management tools are very important. We have spent far more time setting up and trouble shooting networks rather than actually using them. Our networks can not yet be taken for granted - they are not completely reliable.
Thank you! For more information: Dr. George Vellidis Biological & Agricultural Engineering Dept. University of Georgia Voice: 229.386.7274 Fax: 229.386.3958 E-mail: yiorgos@uga.edu